Apple to Ship “Ultra-Thin” 13- and 15-inch MacBooks by End of June [Digitimes]

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Apple to Ship “Ultra-Thin” 13- and 15-inch MacBooks by End of June [Digitimes]

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Those in the market for a new MacBook may want to hold off for just a few months more, as Apple is preparing to ship the next-generation “ultra-tin” 13-inch and 15-inch MacBooks by the end of June, according to Digitimes’sources.

While Digitimes has a mixed track record in reporting unreleased Apple products, it is worth noting that Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference will be held sometime in June, based on the Moscone Center’s schedule posted online and checked earlier by MacRumors. An earlier report from Taiwan’s Economic Daily News says we will likely see a revamped MacBook Air in the third quarter. The sources weren’t sure whether the new MacBook Air would come in an 11-inch size, only in 13 and 15 inches.

Based on what the sources told Digitimes, the two new MacBooks will retain the same design as the existing 12-inch MacBook, but be thinner than the existing MacBook Air. The popular Apple laptop is currently available in 11-inch and 13-inch sizes, so a 15-inch version would be a nice addition.

It seems likely that the sources were talking about the MacBook Pro, which is currently available in 13-inch and 15-inch sizes, but there may be some challenges Apple needs to address to be able to slim the laptop down to meet the thickness of the 12-inch MacBook launched last year.

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PLEASE NO. I don’t care nearly as much about the thickness of my laptop as I do about the speed, memory and storage capacity, battery life and features like an SD card slot, multiple USB ports and Thunderbolt. All of those things take up space, so it worries me when I hear that Apple is trying to design an even thinner 15″ laptop. I can see how some people would want this, but if you’re going this route Apple, please also make a version that’s twice as thick with double the battery and storage capacity; I’ll buy that one.

As I said at the end of my comment, I’d be fine if they also make a feature-rich version that’s much thicker. I’m just worried they won’t do that. They’ve been axing pro features in favour of mass-appeal looks and designs in a number of their products, including the “Pro” ones.